Blended Family
by idealskeptic
Summary: Canon, after Breaking Dawn. Sue Clearwater and Charlie Swan are spending more and more time together by the time the Volturi come to Forks. What happens afterward? Can Sue let herself love a man when she knows things about his daughter he can't know? When the Cullens agree to let Charlie in on all the secrets, how does he react? Can he accept who his daughter is and what Sue knew?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I'm only playing here. I don't own a thing. None of it is mine. Never has been, never will be.

**Author's Note: **This story is first and foremost about _**Sue Clearwater & Charlie Swan**_, because they need me to write a story about them. I swear! ;-) Esme & Carlisle will likely be the main support couple. But expect Bella & Edward, obviously. It's canon, vampires and werewolves, and takes place after _**Breaking Dawn**_.

Enjoy!

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**Chapter One**

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I threw the lacy chemise, navy because black seemed too… desperate, into the bathtub and groaned. What was I thinking, buying a lacy nightgown to spend the night with Charlie Swan? Leah talked me into it. She said it was the first night we'd be sleeping in the same bed, "thereby and therefore, you should dress for the occasion." I suppose it was her way of giving her consent to the change in my relationship with her father's best friend, and I appreciate that, but maybe she just doesn't get it. Or maybe she's living vicariously through me, since she won't imprint and she's at the age when she should be blowing entire paychecks on lingerie to please her man and make herself feel better. That thought is depressing enough to send the chemise into the tub for eternity.

And maybe I'm tricking Charlie. Maybe I'm tricking myself, or trying to. That's what seems most likely.

Or maybe I'm chickening out of everything.

How can I sleep with him, get closer to him, fall further in love with him if I know _everything _and he knows _nothing_? What kind of relationship is that?

I had to fix it or end it.

I opted for the ratty old t-shirt that was a new maternity top when I was pregnant with Leah and has been my go-to sleep shirt since then, I pulled on a pair of shorts and leave the lingerie where it landed.

Something had to happen or I was going to lose my mind. I didn't know what Charlie was expecting tonight, if anything, but things were changing. They had to change.

Charlie was buttoning the top half of his police uniform when I finally emerged from the bathroom. "Sorry, Sue. I've got to go in. There was an accident on Bogachiel Way. It shouldn't be too long." He stopped before he tucked his shirt in and eyed me warily. "Stay here, okay? You don't have to drive back to La Push. Actually, don't. Bad storms out there, I don't want you on the roads."

I tried not to be relieved that I was temporarily off the hook. "I won't go anywhere, I promise."

He kissed me once on the cheek and hurried down the stairs.

I tried to lie down and go to sleep. I couldn't sleep in his bed without him.

I thought about driving home, but I promised I wouldn't do that. But I couldn't sit still. So I grabbed my phone and send my daughter a message, knowing she would at home and not on patrol.

_Why the hell do you need to go to the Cullens?_ was her almost immediate response

_I just do. Charlie doesn't want me to drive on the wet roads though._

It took her a minute to answer, but I smiled when she did. _D'aw, how cute. Fine. I'll come get you. Does me driving your car count in the Chief's book or will you be taking a ride on a wolf girl?_

I knew she wouldn't let me go the Cullens' alone. It's why I asked her. I could've asked Seth, but I needed it to be Leah that goes with me. _If you want to carry your mother on your back, wolf girl, I'll go that way._

_Give me five._

Exactly five minutes later she appeared in Charlie's backyard. I stepped into the rain, having traded my old pajamas for jeans and one of Charlie's flannel shirts. "How'd I know you'd come as a wolf?"

She laughed and shrugged. "I figured you carried me for nine months, the least I can do is give you a ride to the vampire lair. Stand back."

I waited while she phased and then lowered herself to the ground. Feeling odder than I really ever had, I climbed onto my daughter's back and wrapped my arms around her furry neck.

We arrived at the Cullen house a few minutes later and I slid off her back when she stopped at the tree line. Knowing Leah and knowing myself, I waited until she stepped behind a tree, phased back to human, and emerged with her tank top and denim skirt on.

Esme Cullen stepped onto the porch as we approached. "Edward said you were here. Is everything alright?"

"Yes. Could I maybe talk to you and Dr. Cullen for a few minutes?"

"Of course, come in." She went inside first, seeming to recognize that I might not want a vampire behind me. "Carlisle's in his study. We can go up there or I can ask him to come down here."

Before I could wonder what Leah would be most comfortable with, she told me to go upstairs. Jacob was apparently raiding the kitchen so she decided to join him and felt comfortable enough to let me be upstairs with the vampires.

I let Esme lead the way again and I apologized for coming at such an odd hour.

"It's alright, we don't sleep after all," she reminded me lightly as she pushed open a door and went into a dark paneled room with floor to ceiling shelves of books. "Carlisle? Sue wanted to speak to us for a few minutes?"

"As long as I'm not interrupting," I added.

"I was only reading _War & Peace_," he said, gesturing toward a leather bound book adorned with what I knew were Cyrillic letters. "What can we do for you?"

I sat down on the overstuffed leather chair Esme pointed out and waited until she sat on the edge of her husband's desk. "Well, I imagine Edward's already read my mind about what I want to say?"

"He's at the cottage so he may have but wouldn't tell me," Carlisle assured me. "I only ask that he share things that could put my family in danger. I don't think you'd do that."

"Of course not, no." I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders. "I'll just blurt it out then. I want Charlie to know what my children are, what my heritage is. I've talked to Billy, who agrees with me, and to Sam, who seemed surprised I hadn't told him yet. Old Quil will agree too, I'm sure of it."

"I have no problem with that, but you certainly don't need my permission to tell him about the Quileutes. The treaty only says that we don't tell anyone about your tribe and your tribe doesn't tell anyone about us."

"But you want to tell Charlie about us?" Esme finished for him.

"I don't know if I want to, exactly, that should be up to Bella if someone other than you gets to decide. I suppose I just thought I wouldn't tell him about us if you were worried it would create problems for you." I held up my hand before either one of them could interrupt. "I know it sounds strange, coming from me, but after the Volturi came and saw the packs, I think that the survival of both our families is eternally tied together, don't you?"

He nodded solemnly. "It is. As a matter of fact, I was going to ask Jacob to arrange a time and place for me to speak to your tribal council about that. Could you do that?"

"Yes, of course."

"Thank you." He linked his fingers through Esme's and leaned forward against his desk. "Anyway, I won't stop Bella from telling Charlie whatever she wants to tell him. I think it's safe to say that he mostly knows people who know the secrets. If he needs to talk about it all, there are people to talk to. We'll just make sure that he knows he can't tell anyone else. Fair enough?"

"Fair enough. Thank you. I just can't keep lying to him, you know. I know everything and he doesn't know anything and…"

"You can't keep it from him," she finished, for me this time. "We understand that, Sue. It wasn't fair that you've had to, I don't think. Talk to Bella and your children. I'm sure they'll want to help you and help him."

I thanked them and went back downstairs.

Leah met me by the front door, licking powdered sugar off her fingers. "What?" she said when I gave her a look. "Somebody made funnel cake. I need to come here more."

I shook my head and followed her outside. We repeated the same trip and I was reading a book on top the covers on Charlie's bed when he got home a few hours before dawn.

"You didn't sleep, did you?" he asked as he took off his uniform shirt.

"No," I admitted, "I was worried about you."

He pulled on his own t-shirt and shorts and flopped onto the bed beside me. "I'm fine. The accident wasn't as bad as I thought it would be when the call came in. It just took a while to sort out."

"When do you have to be back at work?"

"Noon. Supposed to be earlier, but Mark was with his kids tonight so he's covering for me tomorrow morning."

"Sleep then," I told him. "I'll be here when you wake up."

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**Well, how'd I do? I think I'm finally getting around to writing the Charlie/Sue story I've had nagging me for ages. I hope you like it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I'm only playing here. I don't own a thing. None of it is mine. Never has been, never will be.

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**Chapter Two**

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The meeting between the tribal council and Dr. Cullen was arranged for the next evening while Charlie was at work. Billy had suggested I pass the message that since there would be two wolves, because Jacob was coming as one pack leader, and three Quileutes, he was free to bring an equivalent number of his family. I let Jacob pass the message and when I arrived with Sam and Old Quil at a clearing on the border line, I didn't know quite what to expect.

The vampires – only Dr. Cullen and his wife – arrived a few minutes later.

He thanked us for agreeing to meet him and then basically repeated what I'd said about our two families being eternally tied together, and he gave me credit for the phrasing. "That being said," he continued, "I wanted to be sure that you know I will do everything I can as long as I exist to ensure that your tribe is never threatened or in danger because I was here."

"We appreciate that, thank you," Billy said. "Are you staying in the area a little while longer then?"

"For a while, yes. There are a few more years before we absolutely can't be here anymore. Are there many more boys you expect to start phasing? We don't want to hurt more young boys if we can help it."

"It doesn't hurt us," Sam said firmly. "It's a part of who we are and we take pride it in. But to answer your question, there aren't too many more coming of age in the next couple years. As long as your family doesn't get bigger, I think we're good."

Jacob stopped peeling the bark off a branch and spoke up. "Even after the Cullens have to move, I'm obviously going with them and I'll keep phasing so it's not like the tribe would ever be left totally unprotected and vulnerable."

"We'll try to stop anything before it even gets close to La Push," Esme said quietly. "We're all family now, I think. I hope that doesn't offend you."

"No, it doesn't," I assured her. "I feel the same way."

Old Quil cleared his throat and nodded. "Well, since the mothers have spoken, it's settled. We are one family, we work together, and we survive together."

Carlisle and Billy shook hands to agree to all that.

"We'll still keep to the boundary lines," Esme suggested. "We won't hunt on your land and we won't bite any humans, of course. Other than that, though, I wouldn't have a problem with your people being on our land."

"You don't have to say that because Seth's always there anyway." I couldn't help it. I had to say it.

She laughed and shook her head. "Seth is always welcome. Isn't he doing better in school since he started spending half his time at my house?"

It felt so strange to laugh and joke with a vampire but I couldn't help it. "There is that. Tell him to go home if you get tired of him, though?"

She nodded in agreement, smiling brightly.

"Thank you then, Mrs. Cullen," Sam said. "We can have our next meeting at your house or someone on the rez instead of out here in the forest."

No one disagreed with that.

The Cullens said they would still only be on Quileute land if there was an absolute emergency.

Once that was settled, Billy turned his wheelchair to face me. "You talked to them about Charlie?" When I nodded, he and Carlisle discussed what I said and what he had said to me.

"Bella and Edward went to meet Charlie after work," Carlisle said. "They're going to bring him here. We can tell him everything, if you're ready."

"I am."

Billy and Jacob stayed but Sam took Old Quil home. Leah and Seth showed up a few minutes later. She seemed wary, but she always was anymore, and Seth was just happy. I don't know what he was happy about, but he was happy.

I couldn't remember the last time I felt as nervous as I did while I waited for Charlie to arrive. It was a different kind of nerves than I felt when I knew my children were facing a first and then a second vampire army. This anxiety was almost like when I was working up the nerve to tell Harry that I was pregnant a week after we graduated from high school. Only it was worse. And more disconcerting.

He was confused when Bella and Edward led him along the path to our meeting spot. I don't think anyone missed the way his eyes flashed to Jacob, who we all knew had phased in front of him.

"Is this about… are you going to…" He stopped trying to talk to Jacob and turned to Billy. "He's not going to… turn into a… dog again, is he?"

"Not if you remember him doing it before," Billy replied.

Charlie laughed hollowly. "Oh, I remember."

"I can do it too, Charlie," Seth said before anyone could stop him. "So can Leah. She's the only girl, though. But all us guys who you think don't wear enough clothes when it's cold, we all do what Jake did for you that day."

"I'll take your word for it," he said quickly. He looked at Edward before his gaze settled on Bella. "There's more, isn't there?"

She told him everything then, with help from Edward and Carlisle.

He moved away from her a little, and toward me, the longer she talked, but I knew he wouldn't run away.

"Vampires." He said when the vampires had finished their explanation. "Werewolves."

"Shapeshifters," Leah corrected him. "No moon necessary."

He gave one harsh nod of understanding and focused on her. "You can do it too?"

"Yep. I won't show you though. If you remember, it involves undressing. But anyway, I can. It's how my dad died."

I closed my eyes while she told that story.

I didn't open them until Charlie squeezed my hand. "I understand now," he whispered in my ear. Everyone else had backed off to give us our space. "I mean, I don't understand everything but it's starting to make sense. I shouldn't be sorry, should I?"

"No. I mean, about Harry, yes. Maybe. We didn't know Leah would phase. No girl ever has. I have two of the genes and Harry had one. It's probably inevitable that she would. But this is our heritage, for me." I sighed, embarrassed because I was tripping on my words. "Are you sorry about what you know about Bella and Nessie?"

He shook his head faster than I expected that he would. "No. I get to keep knowing her and I get to know my granddaughter, who is really and truly my granddaughter, not an adopted niece. How could I be sorry about that?"

I knew the vampires and the wolves could hear us, even if I wasn't sure if Charlie really understood that, and I knew they could see us but I kissed him anyway. "I'm glad you know, for what it's worth."

I must have pulled away too fast because he pulled me back and kissed me again. "Now I can love you properly," he whispered.

The fluttering in my stomach picked up again, but it was a good fluttering this time.

He squeezed my hand and tugged me toward where everyone else was standing. "I have a confession," he announced, "and no one is allowed to be mad at the person it's about."

"Dad?" Bella said, confusion clear in her eyes.

He shrugged. "So I thought there was something about Nessie because when I was watching her the other day, while you all did… something, she fell asleep on me and her hand was on my cheek. It was just for a second, then she woke up and tried to play it off. I let her. But then I caught her reading _Vogue_. I don't keep that magazine in my house and I know you didn't leave it, Bells, and Sue and Leah probably don't read it so she had to have brought it. And she was _reading_ reading it. Kind of out loud to herself, that's how I know."

Bella was speechless but Edward and Carlisle said one word in unison. "Alice."

"Hey, when I said you aren't allowed to be mad at the person it's about, I was talking about Nessie because she didn't mean to show me but I'm adding Alice to the mix now. I like Alice. I can't believe she's a vampire," he muttered, "but I like her."

Esme reached out and patted his arm, and he didn't flinch. "She adores you too, Charlie. She was so happy when she found out we were telling you. It was hard to keep her from coming here. Jasper may have tied her and Nessie down."

He laughed. "Then let's go see Alice and my supernatural granddaughter."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I'm only playing here. I don't own a thing. None of it is mine. Never has been, never will be.

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**Chapter Three**

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Renesemee was thrilled that she had no secrets to keep.

She humbly apologized to her parents and vampire grandparents for spilling the secret she'd been supposed to keep. When they forgave her quickly, and it really only took a pair of brown puppy dog eyes and some sweet words from her, she darted across the room and asked me if I was going to be her grandmother, since I was in love her Grandpa Charlie.

I looked at Bella and Edward.

"Please, Sue," he said. "Like you said, we're all family now."

I smiled at the cherubic little girl in front of me. "It's settled then, Nessie, I'll be your grandmother."

She hopped up on the cushion beside me and wrapped her arms around my neck. "I'm very glad," she murmured, suddenly shy again. She left me and settled into Charlie's lap.

He let her sit quietly and be shy while he turned his attention to Alice. "Got my granddaughter reading _Vogue _already, Alice?"

She grinned. "I thought you were going to say something about me being a vampire."

"I figured you would expect that, so that's why I didn't say it." He winked at her and she almost glowed. "Don't worry about the magazine anyway. I know Bella would never read that, so you might as well start on Ness."

"Dad!" Bella protested as Alice fist bumped the air.

I shook my head and exchanged knowing, motherly looks with Esme. It was still very strange how normal she was as their mother.

We stayed at the Cullens' for a few hours and then when Charlie started to yawn, tired from his long night, long day, and big news, I said it was time for us to go. Once Nessie promised to visit him the next day, he was even willing to leave. He turned down a "ride" home from Seth, however, and accepted one from Edward since neither he nor I had a car where we were.

"Don't worry, Mom," Seth said as he walked us to Edward's Volvo, "I'm going to finish my history paper right now. Jasper said he'd help me. You don't have to come home tonight, either. I'll be home on time and go to school on time."

"Sam or Jacob already told you had to?"

He shrugged and kissed my cheek. "Night, Mom. Love you."

I got into the backseat and let Charlie sit in the front with Edward.

"Don't worry," Edward said as he pulled onto the highway, "Jasper doesn't mind helping Seth either. History bores Alice and Jasper loves it, so he gets a break from her and gets to talk about history with someone he can teach it to."

Charlie cleared his throat. "Is he, erm, Jasper… well, is he… historical?"

Edward laughed and nodded. "Yes, I suppose that's a way of putting it. He served in the Texas cavalry in the Civil War. That's historical, right?"

I could see Charlie squirm but I knew he had more questions. He'd ask them to because, as he told me once "that's what cops do."

"Yeah, that's historical," he agreed. "Is he the, and don't be offended by this, oldest in the family? Calendar-wise?"

"No, actually Carlisle's older. Calendar-wise, it's Carlisle, Jasper, Esme, Alice, me, Emmett, Rosalie, and Bella. Then Nessie, of course."

"Old than the Civil War," he repeated. "Do I want to know?"

"Ask Carlisle himself one day, that's how you'll know you want to know." Edward had driven very fast and we were already on Charlie's street. "All you need to know now is that we're not going anywhere, no matter when we were born as humans."

"Good enough for me. Thanks for the ride, Edward, and thanks for, well, for telling me everything. I'm glad I get to know my girls."

I slipped out of the car when Charlie opened my door and took his key while he finished saying goodbye to Edward. It dawned on me as I walked into the house that I'd never gotten the lingerie out of the bathtub. I had to assume that he'd taken a shower, so he saw it. He saw what I did with it. I try really hard to not be a girly-girly about things but the realization made me want to sit down and cry.

I almost had when he walked in and shut the door behind him.

"I can get Leah to take me back to La Push," I offered, unable to stop the words before they tumbled out of my mouth. At least I wasn't crying.

"Why would you do that?" He dropped his jacket on bench by the door and sunk into his recliner. "I mean, you can if you want but you can stay here."

"I thought you might not want me to stay, since I knew about the wolves and the vampires since before Harry died and I never told you." I leaned against the arched doorway to the kitchen and prayed he wouldn't ask me to call Leah.

He shook his head. "You couldn't tell me. I get that, Sue. Like Edward said, sometimes you just have to wait for the time to be right. It's right now, don't you think?"

I nodded, and bit my lip because there were actual tears in my eyes.

Charlie pushed himself to his feet. "Come on, let's go to bed."

I followed him upstairs where he let me use the bathroom to get ready while he changed in his bedroom. My t-shirt and shorts were folded on a shelf, just where I'd left them. The chemise was nowhere to be found. So I tempered my panic as best I could and got ready for bed.

He was sitting on the edge of the bed, lacy chemise beside him, when I came out.

"Since we're laying everything on the table, we should probably talk about everything, don't you think?" He gestured toward the fabric when he finished the question. And when I didn't say anything, he did. "You don't have to wear stuff like that, Sue. I know who you are, and this isn't you. I like who you are. Don't change for me."

"Because you're not going to change for me? Not that I'd want you to either."

"No, not because I'm not going to change for you." He laughed and reached out, grabbing my hand and pulling me down beside him. "Because I love who you are, that's why. And I'm sorry if I'm say that too soon. I know you haven't been a widow even a year."

"It's okay, Charlie, I love who you are too. The kids are okay with this, Leah helped me buy that after all, and I know Harry's happy knowing that I have you to take care of me while I get old and gray."

He did something then that I didn't expect.

He kissed me.

It wasn't like we'd kissed before, sometimes, in the last year. This was _real_.

I never thought about not kissing him back.

We let ourselves fall back onto the mattress together and I saw him kick the lace to the floor.

He hovered above me and pushed a strand of hair back off my face. "I said before that I love who you are. I'm not sure that sounds just right so let me try again. I love you."

I started crying then in earnest and whispered that I loved him too. They were the happiest tears I'd cried in a very long time.

When it was all over, when we'd done what the lingerie had been bought to do and done it without it, I felt better than I had in a very long time.

Things were right in the world. My children were alive and safe, the Cullens weren't going to threaten them, and they could live their lives. Charlie knew the truth about his daughter and his granddaughter and he could know them as long as he lived.

Sure, things could change in an instant. The Volturi could come back and destroy everything I cared about. But things had changed in an instant in my life before. There are things that can't be controlled or stopped, no matter how much you want to.

So I was happy to fall asleep in the arms of the man I love.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I'm only playing here. I don't own a thing. None of it is mine. Never has been, never will be.

**A Note: **Thank you all so incredibly much for the response to this story! I didn't think anyone would read a Sue/Charlie story, especially not this long after the official saga has ended so I am completely thrilled that you're here reading this! xo

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**Chapter Four**

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Two days later, I went back to work at the hospital.

As the Quileute chief, Billy hadn't so much banned us as asked us not to work at or go to the hospital while Carlisle Cullen was a doctor there. I had laughed in his face when he told me that I had to quit my job because there was a vampire working there, as a surgeon and a doctor. I didn't believe in vampires then. But I quit because Harry asked me to go along with what Billy said, and to trust him. Now that everyone was getting along and trusting each other, I asked Dr. Gerandy if he needed a nurse again.

"Took you longer to come back to us than I thought it would, Sue," he said as we walked from his office to the front entrance, "but I told you when you left that you've got a place here whenever you want it."

I smiled, feeling already at home in the sights, sounds, and smells of the hospital. "The time is right now, so here I am."

He stopped in the lobby and took some charts from Kathy, a nurse old enough that she liked to joke that she was there when the hospital was built. "I'm so glad that you've found your path in life after Harry's death. I wish I could have done more when he was brought in here."

"You did everything you could, I know that and I thank you for it. I'm excited to get back to work though," I added lightly to ease the moment. "When can I start?"

"Talk to Kathy. I'm sure she'll fit you into the schedule tomorrow." He patted my back and sighed. "The commute from La Push isn't too much for you?"

I laughed nervously, wondering how much he knew and what rumors were swirling around Forks. In the midst of a vampires versus werewolves problem, I hadn't paid as much attention as I probably should have. I decided to just lay it out there. If people were already speculating, it'd be confirmed. If it wasn't being talked about, it would be soon enough. "No, the commute won't be too much. I've been spending a lot of time in Forks anyway, so I'm sure I could stay here if I didn't want to make the drive."

"And by 'here', you mean with Charlie, right?" he asked, winking. He grinned when I nodded. "I don't need all the details, Sue. He'll do right by you, I know that. See you tomorrow."

I filled out the paperwork with Kathy and scheduled myself for a part-time and on-call nursing job at Forks County Hospital. I'd have time to work, time for my tribe, time for Charlie, time for my kids, and time for myself. It seemed like a lot, but it would be good to be busy.

I stopped at the police station on the way home to see what Charlie wanted for dinner.

"Get your job back?" he said when he looked up from the sports page of the paper and noticed me leaning on the counter.

"Mm-hmm. Easy as pie. Speaking of, what kind of pie do you want me to pick up from the diner? Seth's coming for dinner, and probably Leah, so I'll get some extras."

"Apple, if you please."

I knew Charlie didn't really like apple pie and I knew he said it because I liked it. I still didn't offer to get something else, but I figured one apple and two banana creams would cover things. "Besides getting my job back, I also let Gerandy know that I am, in fact, spending a lot of time with you. I don't know if you've heard any rumors about us, but I figured it was best to get out ahead of them. I hope you don't mind."

"Nope." He shoved his chair back and switched off the lamp on his desk. "Karen Newton and Jackie Stanley were pestering me the other day about it. Karen offered to set me up on a blind date with her newly divorced sister."

"Don't you dare, Swan," I growled, imitating my wolf children as best I could.

"Someone with the same blood in her veins as Karen? Hell no. Don't worry, though, Jackie has your back. She said, and this is a near exact quote, "I think he has _someone _in La Push." Pretty sure she winked and used air quotes."

I shivered at the idea of her not so subtle ways of doing things. "What did you tell her?"

"I told that, just like every other time they've tried to find me a woman, I wasn't interested because I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." He put on his coat and squeezed my shoulder. "That alright?"

"For now," I agreed. "Just next time? Tell them who the _someone _in La Push is. Who cares, right?"

"Right. I'll tell them if I have to. Hopefully they'll find out through grapevine before then. Anyway, I have to hit to the road for a patrol. See you at 6:30?"

I nodded. "Are you going to see Bella and Nessie tonight?"

"Nah. Why don't we have dinner at La Push with your kids instead?"

That was easy enough to agree to so I left him to his work and did my shopping. Since Seth ate at the Cullens so often, I didn't have to spread out my shopping as much as I did for a little while. Too many raised eyebrows in small towns would have resulted if I filled a cart four times a week. As I waited to pay the still large bill, I found myself idly wondering if the Cullens could be diplomatically made to feel guilty enough about the La Push kids phasing to start a grocery fund.

"Let me pay that?"

I jumped when I heard a soft voice behind me. How I hadn't known Esme Cullen was in line behind me was both unnerving and comforting. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Your bill, let me pay it," she repeated. "It's the least we can do, and we'd like to do as much as we can."

"Is Edward here?"

She seemed confused by my question, but shook her head. "No. Why?"

Since the mind reader wasn't around and that wasn't the explanation for her offer, I went with the unknown mind-reading and agreed. "Sure, thank you." I stepped back while she paid for her cart of food, presumably for Nessie, and mostly Jacob and Seth, and my cart.

We walked to the parking lot together and she stopped by my well-used and much-loved Ford. "Would you, and the tribe or pack, be upset if Carlisle and I created an account to cover groceries for anyone who has phased?" she asked, cutting right to the heart of the matter.

"Honestly, I really don't think so. We're not a rich tribe. No casinos," I joked wryly. "But if you want to do that, that would be fine."

"We'll do that, then," she agreed. "We'll start and fund the account but give access to whoever you want, yourself and the others on the council or the alphas. That way it won't be like you have to come and ask us for it when you need it."

"That's perfect, thank you." She seemed nervous, and so I was I, but I gave her arm a quick squeeze. I hoped it would give her the courage to say whatever else it was that she had to say. And it did. "You don't have to answer this offer right now, of course, but we'd also like to put money aside for a scholarship fund for your tribe. I know from things Seth's said that education is very important but the young people in La Push don't hold out a lot of hope for college because of the cost. We have more than we could ever use and, if everyone would agree, we could create an anonymous account for pack members and non-pack members. An endowment, I suppose you'd call it."

I knew they had more than they would ever use, but I was still somehow floored by the offer to send our kids to college. Maybe the most shocking thing was the realization that she would have offered, and wanted to, even if her family hadn't been connected to mine through supernatural elements.

"I will talk to the council about that," I said when I found my thoughts and voice. "Soon, I promise. Thank you, and thank you for the grocery fund."

She smiled, a look of shy relief etched on her face. "I was so worried I'd offend you by offering either thing, or both. I'm so glad that I didn't."

"Not at all," I reassured her. "Listen, if you see Seth before I do, tell him to come to La Push for dinner?"

"Of course. See you later, Sue."

I used the drive home to do absolutely nothing other than drive and sing along to the bad '70s songs on the classic radio station. It wasn't my favorite type of music, but it was the only one that I got reception for between Forks and La Push. It was also just fun to sing at the top of my lungs and let loose.

"You smell like a vampire," Leah said in greeting when I parked and she pulled bags out of the car.

"Bite me," I retorted.

She looked at me for a second, and then burst into laughter. "God, you're turning into Seth. Vampire jokes, for pete's sake." She stopped laughing and looked at me with a resigned look. "I'm getting a vampire step-sister eventually, aren't I?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **I'm only playing here. I don't own a thing. None of it is mine. Never has been, never will be.

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**Chapter Five**

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"Please come, please come, please come."

Nessie may only have said two words, repeated three times, but what she showed me while she said it was a different story entirely. I met Charlie's eyes and was relieved to see he looked as shocked as I felt.

"It's not scary," the little girl sitting half on my lap and half on his assured us. "I only saw a little bit once because I fell asleep but it's really not scary. And Jakey and Leah and Seth can come."

Before either of us could reply, she flitted off our laps and into her father's arms on the other side of the room.

"I don't know," he said, answering a question she hadn't said aloud. "You'll have to ask Jacob and the pack if they want to challenge us in baseball. They like you better than they do me."

Embry and Quil were both at the Cullens' house with us, along with Leah and Seth, and Jacob looked to them when he heard the question. All four wolves responded with a unified "it's on!"and Quil left to go find out if anyone from Sam's pack wanted to play or come and watch.

It was apparently settled then, just like that. The vampires would play the wolves in a game of baseball.

Naturally.

Bella led Nessie, Charlie, and me to a massive Jeep and motioned for us to get in. "We have to play far out so unless you want to ride a vampire or a wolf, this is how you get there," she explained.

"Is this how you got there before?" Charlie asked. "You know, when you went to play baseball and disappeared to Phoenix? And I'm guessing that you didn't actually fall down the stairs of a hotel and out a plate glass window?"

"Nope," Alice chirped, appearing beside him and answering for Bella. "That was me faking the damage to the hotel. Bella got attacked by a vampire in a dance studio. Don't worry, though, he's dead. Jasper and Emmett killed him, even if his mate did blame Edward and try to kill Bella later."

"Don't tell him about people trying to kill me!" Bella yelped.

"She's dead too, right? "Charlie asked, ignoring Bella.

Seth was suddenly beside me and he answered for Alice. "Yep. Totally dead. I helped kill her. Could've killed her boytoy myself if Bella hadn't been stupid and sliced her arm open to distract them."

"Well, at least some of the people who wanted to kill you are dead," he sighed. "Can we go back to talking about baseball, please?"

The question was enough and the five of us, because Alice insisted on tagging along so Bella didn't get lost, piled in to the Jeep. Charlie and I sat in the back with Nessie while the girls settled their argument over who got to drive. Alice settled it by announcing that she'd forgive Bella an owed shopping trip if she let drive. It didn't take Charlie's daughter long to give in.

When we arrived at the clearing, Edward opened my door and offered me his hand for help in stepping down. I took his hand, even though touching a vampire for the first time was nerve-wracking, to put it mildly. He didn't try to bite me, he didn't squeeze too hard, and he smiled when I had both feet firmly planted on the wet ground. Other than his touch being cold, it was all perfectly normal. Knowing he could hear me, I silently apologized to him for the things he no doubt heard in my mind.

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I'd be alarmed if you weren't a little worried."

I laughed and reached out for Charlie as he came around the side of the car. "So, obviously Charlie and I can't play. Are we just watching?"

It was Emmett that answered, and I was definitely still skittish around him. Even if he were only human, I would have been skittish around him. "Nah. The wolves brought Jake's dad and those three girls," he said, pointing to Emily, Kim, and Rachel, "so I think some of you should be umpires and some of you should be coaches. Or something."

After a brief but heated discussion, the human role in the game was settled. Charlie, Emily, and Rachel were on the vampire's team and Billy, Kim, and I were on the wolves' team. Billy and Emily were stationed at home plate, Charlie and Kim were stationed in what the supernatural among us called the outfield but really seemed like miles away, and Rachel and I were umpiring the infield. I didn't know what good any of us could really do, but it seemed fun enough.

"What are you going to do?" I asked Nessie. "Can you play?"

"A little," she said as she scaled her father until she was settled on his shoulders. "I'll just ride Daddy for now."

"Sounds like a plan to me." I waved and then she was gone as her father disappeared into the outfield. I took my spot beside Rachel and get ready for the game.

I had always considered myself lucky that Harry wasn't a baseball fan. Charlie and Billy spent the spring and summer together watching baseball, but Harry and Charlie only met on fall weekends for college and pro football games. I get football. Baseball is boring.

At least normal baseball is boring.

Watching vampires blur through forests and giant wolves, because they played that way to put themselves on a more even footing with the vampires, throw baseballs back and forth is anything and everything but boring.

They all argued over who was out and what was a strike, but they listened to the mere mortals among them. And we basically took turns giving favor to one side and then the other. By the end of the thunderstorm over Forks, the score was tied. After much grumbling, Sam and Carlisle announced that anyone who wanted to play the next time it stormed could simple pick up where the game left off. Embry, Paul, and Jacob all asked Alice if they needed to run away so she could see when the next storm would be.

"I'm not a meteorologist," she huffed, wrinkling her nose. "It wouldn't work anyway, because you're all going to be at the game so I couldn't see it anyway. The only time I ever see anything anymore is when I'm hunting with Jasper or when I'm going hunting with him next."

"Yeah, hunting. That's the word for it," Emmett snickered.

Charlie put his arm around Alice. "Leave her alone. From what you all have told me, she's got it rougher than just about any of you. You can't expect her to know everything all the time. And if she says hunting, hunting it is."

I stifled the urge to laugh at the Cheshire Cat-like grin on her face. Although even funnier than that were the looks of shock and disbelief on the faces of her family.

Jasper, still the quietest of the Cullens even when relaxed and having fun, chuckled and reached out to his wife. "Come on, Ali. I'll race you home through the tree tops."

She kissed Charlie's cheek and disappeared.

Bella waited until we were back at the Jeep before she said anything. She turned and eyed her father. "You like Alice better than me, don't you?"

"Of course not, Bells," he said, pulling her in to a hug. "You're my daughter and I love you. I'd stand up for you just like I did for her if you needed me to."

She gave him a kiss of her own. "I know, Dad, I'm just teasing. You made Alice really happy, though, and she loves that you like her so I approve."

We followed her lead and climbed into the car. Edward drove that time, while Nessie slept in Bella's lap. They dropped us off at Charlie's house and I was exhausted by the time we got there. I'd worked an early half shift that day and had another one in the morning.

I meant to go straight to bed and fall asleep even faster but, as they say, the best laid plans come unraveled. It turned out I still had the energy to come unraveled in his arms.

It was easy to fall asleep after that.


End file.
